<back to map
|
|
|
Overview
|
 The ‘14th International Conference on the Reduction of Drug Related Harm’ took place on 6th – 10th April 2003 in Chiang Mai, Thailand. It was attended by over 750 people from 63 countries – including law enforcement personnel, medical professionals, scientists, people who use drugs, sociologists, therapists, counsellors and HIV and drug policy activists from international institutions, UN agencies, government departments, the community and NGOs. The conference theme was “Strengthening Partnerships for a Safer Future”.
It was a controversial setting for a harm reduction conference, as was demonstrated on the opening day, when members of the Thai Drug Users Network protested as Dr. Sudarat Keyuraphan (the Thai Public Health Minister) arrived at the event to address delegates at the opening ceremony. The activists held placards and banners criticising the Thai government’s anti-drugs policies and campaigns (which had killed more than 2,000 people since January 2003).
The conference programme consisted of 139 hours of presentations, discussion and debate on a wide range of topics. As the Rapporteur report concludes, “The conference succeeded in bringing together many partners from different sectors… helped many to learn new things, but also provided an opportunity for networking and for making new contacts in formal and informal meetings. Beyond the differences, there is a common goal to ensure the welfare, peace and tranquillity of affected communities… This conference has taken great strides in demonstrating this”.
|
 |
|
Programme
|
 Click here to view the 'Programme at a Glance' [PDF:27KB]
|
Click here to view the full programme [PDF:119KB]
|
Conference Newsletters
|
Daily newsletters at the conference are designed to keep delegates up-to-date with the latest developments and announcements from the conference organisers, and also to provide a record of events.
|
Click here to view ‘On Track News 1’ (Monday 7th April) [PDF:319KB]
|
Click here to view ‘On Track News 2’ (Tuesday 8th April) [PDF:369KB]
|
Click here to view ‘On Track News 3’ (Wednesday 9th April) [PDF:310KB]
|
Click here to view ‘On Track News 4’ (Thursday 10th April) [PDF:845KB]
|
Presentations
|
Below are some of the presentations from the conference opening session on 6th April 2003. If you presented at the conference and would like your presentation to be uploaded onto this website, please send it to Jamie Bridge.
|
Sudarat Keyuraphan (Minister of Public Health, Thailand) [PDF:61KB]
|
Pat O’Hare (IHRA Executive Director) [PDF:71KB]
|
Jane Fountain [PDF:39KB]
|
Rapporteur Report
|
The appointed Conference Rapporteur for this event was Annette Verster from Ricerca Srl in Italy.
|
Click here to view the Rapporteur Report [PDF:51KB]
|
IHRA Awards
|
The International Rolleston Award
|
 This was presented to Ambros Uchtenhagen – the Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Zurich and Director of the Addiction Research Institute at Zurich University in Switzerland. Dr. Uchtenhagen is a member of the WHO Expert Panel on Alcoholism and Drugs, the Editor in Chief of the journal European Addiction Research, and board member of the European Association on Substance Abuse Research.
|
Click to view history of the International Rolleston Award
|
The National Rolleston Award
|
 This was presented to the Mae Chan Project, a methadone maintenance and community-based care programme in Northern Thailand, run by the Mae Chan Hospital. The award was collected on behalf of the group by Pornpimon Saksoong, head of the Mae Chan Hospital’s Pharmacy Section. The project was established in 1997 and covers 11 Akha hill-tribe villages.
|
Click to view history of the National Rolleston Award
|
|
|
Photos
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Click images to view larger
|
Links
|
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies – Press Release (Event Opening)
|
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies – Press Release (Event Closing)
|
Issue 6 of ‘The Correspondent’ (by Health and Development Networks) reviewing the conference [PDF:1.23MB]
|
UNICEF - Summary of participation at the conference
|
|
|
